How to choose the right school for your kids

Just like you do a lot of online research before you make an investment (no matter how small it is), you must do a lot more research when it comes to investing in your child's education. After all, it is the most important investment of your life, isn't it?

By Ritesh Rawal

Finding the best classes and school for your little one can seem like a daunting task. With the mushrooming of so many educational institutes around, it has become very difficult for parents to find the right school environment catering to an all-around development. How do you decide if a particular school is a right for your child? Whether to go for a public or private school or a homeschool? All these questions are a common concern among new age parents. Shared below are pointers which must be considered while you are making a choice of the right school for your child:

Understand your child

Every child has their own capabilities and needs. No single child will have the adaptability level of the other. Some kids have different interests than others. Some may lack something which others might be fluent in. Hence, it is very important to understand your child and his/her needs first before you think of enrolling them.

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Gather information about schools

Just like you do a lot of online research before you make an investment (no matter how small it is), you must do a lot more research when it comes to investing in your child’s education. After all, it is the most important investment of your life, isn’t it? Talk to parents around you, speak to different schools, gather information about its culture, go through the website and google more about them. Cross-check with the local police station about the safety and security of the school. In a nutshell, you must know ins and outs of the school you are considering for your little one.

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Know their curriculum and approach of learning

Now, this holds utmost importance because it forms the basis on which your child will grow. Whichever school you are considering, get to know their curriculum. Ask them questions about what education means to them and how they are trying to distinguish their school from a thousand others. Investigate how they are shaping their kids. Ask them what other than the textbook is part of their curriculum and how they approach teaching and learning mechanisms. It is important for you and the school to be on the same page when it’s about the development and nurturing of your child.

Visit the school

Once you are through with your online research, it is time to do the final inspection – the school visit. This will give you its true flavour. Approach schools that interest you and fix a time slot to visit the campus and meet their authorities. Talk to them to get a tour so you can get a realistic and practical picture of how your kids will be taken care of. Consider if the teachers could become second parents to your kids, if the school is neat and clean, if the students look happy there, and if they seem dedicated enough to shape the personality of your kids.

If you can tick all the pointers given above, you are on the verge of finding the right school for your kids. Besides these pointers, do enquire about the kind of classes they hold. Move ahead of the fixed curriculum and choose a school which beliefs in imparting practical knowledge to your kids.

(The writer is an innovator and entrepreneur.)

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